


Too Close For Comfort

by rain_sleet_snow



Series: and malt does more than Milton can (to justify God's ways to man) [1]
Category: Primeval
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, F/M, One-Sided Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-15
Updated: 2015-01-15
Packaged: 2018-03-07 18:12:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3178211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rain_sleet_snow/pseuds/rain_sleet_snow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caroline Steel hates seeing lizards in cages.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Too Close For Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> I owe part of the inspiration for this to tli, who first wrote daemons in Primeval some months ago, which gave me a major why-didn’t-I-think-of-that moment, because my approach to life has long been that daemons make everything better. Looked over by x_bellaitalia_x.
> 
> Caroline - Cosmin:chameleon  
> Abby - Nazariy:komodo dragon  
> Connor - Asdis:Labrador

            “She keeps lizards, Cosmin,” Caroline Steel said with thinly-veiled horror. “ _Lizards_.”

 

            Cosmin, who had just spotted a chameleon almost identical to himself in one of Abby Maitland’s terrariums, climbed down Caroline’s arm and stood on the table to examine it. “Yeah, well, not everyone has a lizard for a daemon.”

 

            “She does!” Caroline hissed.

 

            “Are you sure Nazariy’s a lizard? Because I’m not sure Nazariy’s a lizard.”

 

            Caroline was getting a headache, both from Cosmin’s annoying tendency to act as her conscience – he’d been so bloody rude about this job, completely ignoring the fact that they needed to pay the rent somehow – and from the mind-bending sight of her daemon sitting there, eyeing up something that was almost identical to him except not a daemon. “What do you think he is, then?”

 

            Thoughtfully, Cosmin changed colour. “I would call Nazariy a bloody big animal thing with lots of teeth.”

 

            Caroline suppressed a shriek, and scooped Cosmin up before her head broke any more. “Whatever. This is _disgusting_.”

 

            “It’s just a bunch of _animals_ ,” Cosmin said patiently, crawling up onto her shoulder and taking up residence on his usual spot. “Come on, Caroline, I know you’ve got a thing about lizards in captivity...”   

 

            “If you were going to mention the time with the zoo when we were twelve,” Caroline said, under her breath but precise, “don’t. Okay? Just don’t.”  She moved through Abby’s lizard collection, staring into the terrariums with horrified fascination. They seemed well-cared for, but still- they were trapped. Caroline shuddered violently. She didn’t much like Connor; he was a sweet kid, but he didn’t seem to have very much up top, and she didn’t understand how he could live in the same flat as mad Abby and her cages full of lizards.

 

            “Don’t you do that,” Cosmin said, digging his feet into her nice jacket. “I don’t like falling off your shoulder, it’s a nuisance and it hurts.”

 

            Caroline put up a hand to comfort him. “I don’t like it either. Don’t wreck my jacket.”

 

            She was staring at a terrapin who seemed to disapprove of her existence when she heard something squeak and glide over her head; she leapt backwards with a yelp that Cosmin echoed, and looked around wildly for the source of the noise. Abby couldn’t possibly have bats, could she? Not even someone who kept ridiculous numbers of lizards and the heating stupidly high would keep bats. Not loose. _Surely_ not.

 

            It took several moments of staring for Caroline to realise that she had no idea what the flying creature was, but mere seconds for her to take on board the fact that whatever it was, it was much, much worse than a bat.

 

            “Connor!” Caroline said, not proud of how her voice went high and squeaky.

 

            “Yeah?” Connor jogged down the stairs and came over to her, his eager-to-please daemon following at his heels. Cosmin tightened his grip on her shoulder, doubtless remembering Asdis sniffing at him on a previous occasion, which Cosmin tolerated about as happily as Caroline tolerated Connor’s occasional kisses and touches. “What’s the matter?”

 

            Caroline pointed a shaky finger at the green flying thing. “What’s _that_?”

 

            “Him? Oh, he’s just Rex,” Connor said easily, held out his arm and clicked his tongue. “Look. C’mere, Rex. Go on... you know you want to... I fed you like half a bag of treats this morning, mate, and Abby would kill me if she knew...”

 

            “Is he Abby’s?” Caroline asked, feeling that this was stating the obvious, but still wanting to check.

 

            Connor gave her a surprised look, as Rex flew to him and settled on his arm. “Yeah. She’s had him a couple of years now. You can touch him if you want, he doesn’t –“

 

            Caroline saw the movement coming and snatched back her fingers just as Rex’s mouth snapped shut. Cosmin swore.

 

            “Rex!” Connor exclaimed, jaw dropping with shock. “’ey, what was that for?”

 

            Rex chittered at Caroline and leapt out of Connor’s arms, bouncing off Asdis’ back and swooping up into the rafters of the flat. Connor looked after him and then back at Caroline, as if astonished. “I’m so sorry, Caroline. I don’t – he’s never done that before!” He moved closer. “Did he bite you? Let me...”

 

            “We’re fine,” Cosmin gritted out. Caroline was still getting her breath back.

 

            Connor started back as if he was the one who’d been bitten. “Okay, fine. I just... sorry.”

 

            “It’s okay.” Caroline flashed him a rather insincere smile, and put a hand up to Cosmin. His tail curled around her finger for a moment. “I’m just not very... Sorry, I’m a bit on edge right now.” She smiled at him again. “Can we go and get that coffee we were talking about?”  


            Connor’s face lit up, and his daemon relaxed, her tail starting to wag gently. “Yeah, sure. Just let me go and grab my jacket.”  


            “I’ll wait by the door, okay?” Caroline said, and went downstairs. Abby was making herself a cup of tea in the kitchen, her immense lizard-type daemon basking in a patch of sunlight.

 

            “Going out?” Abby asked, her voice hostile.

 

            “Just for a coffee,” Caroline assured her, with a fake smile, and fanned herself. “You keep it hot in here, don’t you?”

 

            “For the lizards,” Abby said. “And Nazariy.”

 

            Caroline made some kind of acknowledging hum and glanced down at Nazariy. It was rude to stare at someone’s daemon, of course, but Caroline felt justified in taking a quick look right up until she looked away and caught Abby’s unyielding blue eyes.

 

            “Komodo dragon,” Abby said, voice as hard as her eyes. Nazariy rolled over and bared his teeth, yawning idly.

 

            He had a lot of teeth.

 

            “They hate us,” Cosmin muttered in Caroline’s ear. “They hate us, and Asdis is a complete idiot, and Connor isn’t any better.” He paused. “I told you this was a crap idea. We should never have taken this job.”

 

            “Mm,” Caroline said out loud, letting her eyes drift up and down Abby’s body, from the bleached hair to the kicker boots. “I’m starting to agree.”

 

            “What?” Abby said sharply, and Nazariy climbed to his feet, tail twitching slightly.

 

            Caroline saw the defensiveness in her eyes and didn’t have to fake her smile; it was always good to see Abby on the back foot, the woman was too bloody suspicious of her and Cosmin, and she had influence over Connor that could wreck Caroline’s job. “Nothing. Just talking to Cosmin.” 

 

            “You are the world’s most manipulative wench,” Cosmin murmured admiringly, and Caroline beamed.

 

            She made sure to direct it at Connor, coming down the stairs.

 


End file.
